Pierre Claver Mbonimpa

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Pierre Claver Mbonimpa (* 20th century) is a Burundian human rights activist . In August 2001 he founded the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Incarcerated Persons (APRODH).

Life

Before Mbonimpa founded APRODH, he worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Economy and Finance in Burundi. Later he was a policeman in the air and customs police. During this activity he was arrested for illegal possession of weapons and served two years in prison from 1994 to 1996. During this time, Mbonimpa was regularly beaten and tortured.

Commitment to human rights

APRODH campaigns for the fundamental rights of prisoners and for the approximately 9,000 people who are waiting for their trial in Burundi .

APRODH is also active in the prevention of torture and sexual violence and is committed to protecting minors. According to Burundi's penal code, minors aged 15 and over can be arrested and treated as adults. Although the age limit was not intended to be imprisonment, many minors were imprisoned, especially during the civil war riots in 2015.

Mbonimpa has received several death threats for standing up for human rights and for improving the human rights situation in Burundi. In 2007 he was awarded the Martin Ennals Award . In 2016 he received the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism from the US international non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), together with human rights activists Kalpona Akter, Yonous Muhammadi, Ratnaboli Ray and Nicholas Opiyo.

arrest

On May 15, 2014, Mbonimpa was arrested again in Bujumbura . During interrogation, he was accused of endangering the internal and external security of the state, because of his statements in an interview ten days earlier and of being in possession of forged documents. The statements and documents are related to the allegations that young Burundians were sent to the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo for military training . The arrest is viewed as harassment and repression by Human Rights Watch .

Mbonimpa is an opponent of current President Pierre Nkurunziza and opposed a third term in 2015. Mbonimpa was shot and seriously wounded on August 3, 2015, but was able to travel to Belgium for medical treatment.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Burundi: Boys Behind Bars: Local Heroes , Channel 4 , December 9, 2011
  2. ↑ Human Rights Defenders from Sri Lanka and Burundi share 2007 Martin Ennals Award , Protectionline , May 4, 2011
  3. ↑ Burundi: Boys Behind Bars: Episode 6 , Channel 4 , December 9, 2011
  4. ↑ Burundi: Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights , UNHCR , December 14, 2011
  5. ↑ Human Rights Defenders from Sri Lanka and Burundi share 2007 Martin Ennals Award , Protectionline , May 4, 2011
  6. ^ When Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is Jailed, All Burundians Are At Risk. , Human Rights Watch , June 3, 2014
  7. ↑ Gunmen shoot leading Burundi human rights activist. , France 24.com , August 3, 2015
  8. ^ Attack on human rights defenders , daily newspaper , August 4, 2015
  9. ↑ Top Burundi general's 'killers' hero. , Yahoo.com , August 9, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Mbonimpa, Pierre Claver
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Burundian human rights activist
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century